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Chapter 18

The family had bought salt several times for this purpose. Though it seemed a bit wasteful, opportunities like this were rare. After the New Year, there wouldn\'t be as many meat sellers in the black market, and even if there were, they wouldn\'t trade for fish anymore.

As good as fish was, it couldn\'t compare to the satisfaction of eating meat.

People these days were lacking in fatty foods, and everyone still preferred meat above all.

Zhao Guihua planned to sell as much as she could before the New Year, but would stop afterward. It wasn\'t that she didn\'t want to continue, but their catches had been declining day by day. Besides, it was normal for households to be busy preparing for the New Year festivities.

However, if she continued to be away from home every day after the New Year, the gossips in their courtyard would surely notice. Zhao Guihua didn\'t want people knowing about her business, so she worked enthusiastically these days before the New Year, leaving early and returning late.

Her small business continued right up until the twenty-ninth day of the last lunar month, which was the final day.

Truth be told, Zhao Guihua had become somewhat familiar with the black market over these days. She used to find the place intimidating, but after coming here for several days, she had grown more composed than most people.

Today, after selling her fish, she followed her usual routine of clearing the remaining fish with her partner, but this time instead of exchanging for meat, she got a rack of ribs.

Zhao Guihua thought these ribs would taste much better than regular meat - this was her favorite. After getting the ribs, she began her New Year shopping spree. Like all women, she couldn\'t resist a good shopping session. She spotted someone selling roosters and immediately bought one, along with a small bag of shelled peanuts. Seeing dried mushrooms for sale, she knew she couldn\'t pass them up - they were essential for chicken and mushroom stew.

The money Zhao Guihua earned today flowed out like water. She had arrived with a basket full of fish and was returning with a basket full of goods - a true testament to a woman\'s purchasing power.

On her way home, Zhao Guihua stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a pair of cotton shoes with thousand-layer soles for each family member before proudly heading home. She had spent longer shopping than usual today, and on her way back, she ran into Zhuang Zhiyuan, who was carrying New Year goods.

Zhuang Zhiyuan had returned just last night, and upon seeing his mother, he called out from afar: "Mom, look at the New Year goods our work unit distributed!"

The railway had always provided good benefits, and Zhuang Zhiyuan happily explained, "We got eggs for the New Year, purchased separately outside the usual plan. Five jin per person!"

Zhao Guihua responded, "Oh, that\'s wonderful!"

"Indeed it is - last year it was only two jin," he said proudly. "We also got two jin of meat, plus a box of apples and a box of tangerines."

Their New Year goods could really be counted as something!

He hadn\'t expected such generous distributions this year, and in good spirits, he asked, "Mom, what did you buy?"

Zhao Guihua replied, "Don\'t look out here, let\'s talk about it when we get home."

As mother and son returned to the courtyard, everyone was already busy, with households cooking and doing various chores. Old Lady Su was fetching water, and when she saw Zhuang Zhiyuan carrying his goods, her eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Been shopping for New Year goods, have you?"

She knew Zhao Guihua had been away frequently lately and had been trying to figure out what she was up to.

Her eyes darted between mother and son, and Zhao Guihua said, "These weren\'t bought - they were distributed by our eldest\'s railway work unit. Their benefits are so good - if I\'d known they\'d be giving out so much, I wouldn\'t have been queuing up every day."

She had a loud voice, and Madam Zhou Li, who was in the room next door, heard and jealously complained, "Listen to her showing off. Really can\'t keep anything to herself, like a dog\'s stomach that can\'t hold oil. I\'m the richest in the courtyard, but do you see me bragging?"

Jiang Lu was cooking and quietly said, "Mom, please stop talking about being the richest - it doesn\'t sound good, and it\'s not appropriate for others to hear."

She was kindly reminding her mother-in-law, who was unaware of the changing attitudes outside, but Madam Zhou Li took it as a challenge to her authority and immediately became extremely angry: "You little wretch, what are you saying? Looking down on me now, are you? Despising me, are you? I haven\'t even complained about you being a barren hen, and here you are criticizing my words! Who else has such a daughter-in-law? We must have had eight generations of bad luck. Look around this courtyard - except for the newlyweds, who doesn\'t have children? I\'m not asking you to be like Wang Xiangxiu who gave the family three big healthy boys - even one son would be enough. Look at you - married for ten years, and where\'s the child? Well? Where is it?"

Jiang Lu hung her head bitterly, looking completely dejected.

As Madam Zhou Li started berating her daughter-in-law again, Aunt Su outside quietly smiled with satisfaction - her family had three sons. Zhao Guihua had no interest in hearing such talk and immediately went home.

Liang Meifen was peering out at the door and said, "Is Jiang Lu getting scolded again?"

She pursed her lips and said, "Without a son... uh..." Meeting her mother-in-law\'s gaze and remembering her criticism about gender discrimination, she quickly corrected herself: "Without a child, it really won\'t do."

Zhao Guihua coldly responded, "What\'s it to you whether she has one or not!"

Liang Meifen: "..." What an evil mother-in-law!

While Madam Zhou Li was a nasty mother-in-law, her own wasn\'t any better.

She looked enviously at the Su family - if only she had a mother-in-law like Aunt Su, who was truly gentle and considerate, the most understanding towards daughters-in-law. Her own mother-in-law wasn\'t good at all, with her bad temper and obvious favoritism.

She could tell that her mother-in-law only liked Ming Mei, that brown-noser.

"Mom, Mom, I\'m back! We got our distributions~"

Speak of the devil - just as she was thinking about the brown-noser, Ming Mei returned, calling out loudly, "Mom!"

Zhao Guihua felt a headache coming on and quickly went out, saying, "You\'re back, that\'s... oh, why do you have so many things?"

She hurried forward, asking, "Why are you carrying so much?"

Ming Mei smiled sweetly and announced loudly: "These were distributed to us."

She continued, "We got meat, fish, and fruit..."

Zhuang Zhiyuan came out to look and saw that his younger sister\'s work unit had distributed six items while they only got four. He immediately felt outdone and sighed disappointedly. He felt deeply frustrated that his work unit had fallen short.

To be outmatched by his younger sister.

However, Zhuang Zhiyuan could barely console himself - after all, the machinery factory couldn\'t be expected to give out much.

It was a huge factory with thousands of workers - how could they distribute so much?

How could they possibly manage to give everyone so much?

Ming Mei was still showing off, even her hair tips seemed to be bragging as she said, "Mom, we even got a box of peach cookies!"

Zhao Guihua remarked, "Your work unit really has excellent benefits."

She remembered there hadn\'t been this much in her previous life - she wasn\'t sure if Ming Mei hadn\'t brought everything home then, or if things had changed. But Zhao Guihua didn\'t dwell on these thoughts - times change, and what\'s said at one time applies to that time only. She happily helped Ming Mei bring her things inside, saying, "You should have asked your third brother to help you!"

Ming Mei replied, "Oh, it\'s fine, I can manage."

Zhao Guihua started organizing the items, and everyone in the family was a bit excited - this year had brought the most New Year goods they\'d seen in years. Liang Meifen paced around mysteriously and said, "Mom, with all these good things in our house, we can\'t leave them unattended. Those shameless thieves might try to break in."

Zhao Guihua replied, "You don\'t need to tell me that. I know."

The world had long been weary of petty thieves.

Zhuang Zhiyuan frowned: "That family\'s child really needs proper education. Spoiling children like this won\'t help them succeed or contribute to society. If everyone were like this, how could society develop and progress? Life isn\'t just about eating and sleeping; one should pursue higher spiritual enlightenment. If they don\'t educate their child properly, they\'ll just become society\'s waste. We can\'t follow their example. Take Hutou and Xiao Yanzi, for instance - I believe we should teach them life-awakening principles, let them swim in the ocean of spiritual enlightenment..."

Zhao Guihua was speechless and simply found some cotton balls to stuff in her ears.

Zhuang Zhiyuan: "..."

This was quite hurtful, wasn\'t it?

Liang Meifen looked enviously at her mother-in-law\'s cotton balls, deeply appreciating her mother-in-law\'s foresight. Though she was a difficult mother-in-law, this move was brilliant! Liang Meifen had long suffered from Zhuang Zhiyuan\'s lengthy preaching.

Ming Mei, however, remained casual and asked curiously, "Brother, have you always talked like this?"

Zhuang Zhiyuan: "???"

He nodded.

Ming Mei: "And nobody\'s beaten you up yet?"

Zhuang Zhiyuan: "..."

Ming Mei: "You\'re really quite lucky."

Zhuang Zhiyuan: "!!!"

Zhao Guihua looked at her eldest son\'s dumbfounded face and burst out laughing, saying, "Alright, eldest son, go fill up our water tank; eldest daughter-in-law, you cook the meal, and third daughter-in-law can help. I\'m heading to the backyard."

After giving out the tasks, she took a fish and went out. As soon as she emerged, Madam Zhou Li and Aunt Su immediately looked her way. Aunt Su\'s eyes lit up as she said, "Guihua, is this..." She reached out to take it.

Zhao Guihua dodged, thinking to herself how this person really made herself at home - why did she assume anything brought out was for her?

She gave a forced smile and responded, "It\'s so late and you haven\'t started cooking yet. You\'re really fortunate to have such a capable and devoted daughter-in-law who can do everything."

Aunt Su\'s gaze remained fixed on the fish, her voice very soft: "I wish I could do all the housework myself, but my health just won\'t allow it. It\'s completely out of my control." She pointed at the fish and said, "Your fish looks really good. The ones I saw at the grocery store last time weren\'t nearly as nice. You\'re so blessed, Guihua, with such hardworking sons and capable daughters-in-law. As for my family..."

She sighed and continued, "Three growing boys, life is so hard. The whole household depends entirely on Xiangxiu, the children can\'t even eat their fill, let alone get proper nutrition. Yesterday, Jinlai was saying how much he loves fish..."

Her eyes swept over the fish again, thinking to herself that after such hints, shouldn\'t you show some neighborly spirit and give me the fish? Not sharing with neighbors is really unkind.

Zhao Guihua replied: "My children love fish too. Which family doesn\'t enjoy good food? But we can\'t eat well every day. Children don\'t understand, but adults need to be sensible. If you don\'t budget carefully, there\'s no way to make ends meet."

Zhao Guihua smiled and said, "Don\'t you agree, Madam Zhou?"

Madam Zhou Li nodded at these words, saying, "That\'s right, even with our circumstances, we don\'t dare eat freely."

Zhao Guihua: "Exactly!"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, she took her things to the backyard. Madam Zhou Li immediately fixed her gaze on Zhao Guihua\'s retreating figure, watching her enter Auntie Wang\'s house, then spat and said, "Giving gifts, such a bootlicker!"

Aunt Su also came to the courtyard to look toward the back, biting her lip and saying, "Why did she give it to Aunt Wang?"

Hearing this, Madam Zhou Li laughed coldly and mockingly said, "If not to Aunt Wang, did you expect her to give it to you?"

Aunt Su\'s eyes reddened with hurt, and just then Old Man Bai entered the courtyard. Seeing this scene, he immediately shouted, "Zhou Li, you old shrew, are you bullying Sister Su again? How can you be so heartless and conscienceless!"

Madam Zhou Li nearly fell over in anger. She put her hands on her hips and pointed at Old Man Bai, cursing, "Who do you think you\'re talking to, you old fool? What\'s this about? Rushing to defend your old flame without even knowing what\'s going on? Look at yourself, what are you anyway?"

"What am I? Whatever I am, I\'m better than you - you\'re not even human! You just love bullying people. Nothing but poison comes out of your dog mouth all day long. How can you bully such a good woman as Sister Su? There\'s no justice!"

Aunt Su\'s eyes were red as she tried to mediate: "Brother Bai, please stop arguing. It\'s not good for your reputation either. Please go home, I\'m used to this..."

Ming Mei heard the shouting outside and immediately rushed to the door. Although many people had attended the wedding feast, it was just a brief encounter, and everyone had been busy with work afterward, making it hard to remember who was who.

This time, Ming Mei got a good look at Old Man Bai. He resembled Bai Fendou somewhat.

But he looked more shifty than Bai Fendou - while Bai Fendou was ugly, he had a kind of simple honesty about him. She quickly waved: "Sister-in-law, come here."

Liang Meifen came over: "What is it?"

"Sister-in-law, why does it look like Madam Zhou Li wants to tear Old Man Bai to pieces?" she whispered.

Liang Meifen lowered her voice: "When Madam Zhou Li was younger, she wanted to marry Old Man Bai. A widow and a widower, each with a son - wouldn\'t they have been perfect together? But Old Man Bai wasn\'t interested in her. He\'s been in love with Aunt Su for decades and always takes her side against Madam Zhou Li. Look, now it\'s become an eternal feud."

Ming Mei: "Oh~ Hatred born from love!"

She sighed: "It\'s really..."

She couldn\'t find the words to describe it.

The two sisters-in-law stood at the door watching the drama unfold. Ming Mei felt she was only missing some sunflower seeds to make it perfect. But they weren\'t the only ones watching - people from both the front and back courtyards had gathered to see the excitement.

Zhuang Zhixi returned from work and stood at the door watching for a while before quickly moving to his wife\'s side, asking, "What\'s all this fighting about?"

Ming Mei: "It\'s all for love."

"Pfft!"

Several people around them laughed, but thinking about it, Ming Mei was right - wasn\'t it all for love? If not for love, why would Old Man Bai take such a stand? It was all the power of love.

However, the drama didn\'t last long. Aunt Wang quickly appeared and took control of the situation: "What are you all doing? Don\'t you want to have a peaceful New Year? What\'s all this about? Fighting over trivial matters - what happened to being harmonious neighbors? Old Bai, you shouldn\'t always be arguing with women, it\'s unseemly. And Madam Zhou, mind your words, your harsh speaking isn\'t something new."

Her gaze fell on Aunt Su, and she sighed, saying, "Aunt Su\'s life isn\'t easy, everyone should be more understanding."

"We know that, and we\'re not bullying anyone."

"Right, we\'re not the ones bullying them, we even help their family sometimes."

"Exactly."

Aunt Wang: "As long as everyone understands, these are the New Year days, let\'s all calm down and have a good celebration."

"We understand."

Madam Zhou Li wasn\'t satisfied: "Hmph, that sounds nice, but aren\'t you accepting gifts yourself!"

"Accepting gifts? What gifts?"

"What\'s going on?"

"Yeah, Aunt Wang accepting gifts? That\'s not right, aren\'t we supposed to not take a single thread from the masses? Just being in charge of the courtyard and already taking gifts, that\'s not appropriate."

"Indeed."

Everyone started discussing, and Madam Zhou Li immediately perked up, saying, "Exactly! Just now, Aunt Su, you saw it too, right? Zhao Guihua took a fish to Aunt Wang\'s house. Now whenever Zhao Guihua\'s family has any issues, Aunt Wang will surely show favoritism."

Aunt Su hesitated: "Uh... I-I did see it..." Then she showed a guilty expression as she glanced at Aunt Wang and Zhao Guihua, saying, "I\'m, I\'m just telling the truth."

Hearing this, Zhao Guihua laughed in anger. These people were like mad dogs, biting anyone they could, weren\'t they?

Did they really think she was easy to bully?

Before Aunt Wang could say anything, Zhao Guihua put her hands on her hips and started scolding: "Madam Zhou Li, stop spreading rumors and talking nonsense here. I can give my things to whoever I want, it\'s none of your business! You\'re just projecting your own malicious thoughts onto others. And you, Aunt Su, just because I didn\'t give anything to you, you join in stirring up trouble? When I came out with the fish earlier, it wasn\'t meant for you, but you tried to take it. What\'s that about? You think everyone has to give things to your family? I\'ll say it again - I\'ll give to whoever I choose."

"If you can give to whoever you want, why don\'t you give to others? It\'s clearly a bribe!"

Zhao Guihua let out a cold laugh and said, "A bribe? Would I be so obvious about it if I were bribing someone? Would I let you all see it? How ridiculous! Everyone knows you, Madam Zhou Li, are a big mouth. Everything that passes through your lips turns from one into ten. Do you think I\'m stupid enough to give bribes in front of you? I do things openly because I\'m not afraid of petty people. Let everyone judge - I borrowed a fishing net from Aunt Wang and then completely forgot about it for over ten days without returning it. Today I suddenly remembered. How could I return it empty-handed? Tomorrow is New Year\'s Eve, but even if it weren\'t the New Year, how could I borrow something for so long without showing some appreciation? I don\'t know how you, Madam Zhou Li and Aunt Su, conduct yourselves, but I certainly can\'t just return things empty-handed after borrowing them for so long. Don\'t I have any face?"

"That\'s true."

"If you\'ve borrowed something for ten days and forgot to return it, it is more appropriate to bring a small gift."

"If someone borrowed my things and returned them empty-handed after forgetting about them, I wouldn\'t be happy either. This is the right way to do it."

"Indeed."

As everyone discussed, Madam Zhou Li\'s face darkened, and she argued stubbornly: "Who knows if what you\'re saying is true or false!"

Zhao Guihua chuckled and said, "Oh, so according to you, I just have too many things to give away? And who knows what your true intention is in stirring up trouble here? You were just arguing with Old Man Bai, and now you\'re coming after me. What\'s this about? Trying to shift the conflict? Have you no shame? At your age, who spoiled you like this? It\'s New Year\'s, and I don\'t want to stoop to your level, but you can\'t be so unreasonable. The north wind doesn\'t blow around you - who do you think you are!"

"Pfft!" The people around couldn\'t help but laugh.

It had to be said, Aunt Zhao was quite skilled at arguing!

"Why don\'t you just mind your own business instead of going around stirring up trouble with everyone? Everyone in the courtyard tolerates you, but if you go outside and get beaten up, no one will help you. What kind of person are you! If it weren\'t for the New Year, I\'d come right over and slap you twice to teach you how to behave properly, you piece of trash!"

Zhao Guihua\'s verbal assault was absolutely dominating - it could be said she achieved a complete victory.

Madam Zhou Li was so angry she was gasping for air, while Aunt Su quietly retreated behind the crowd. She was someone who always took the gentle approach; she couldn\'t handle such direct confrontation.

Seeing that Madam Zhou Li couldn\'t keep up, Zhao Guihua said, "All you do is run your mouth - besides gossiping, what else can you do!"

Seeing that Zhao Guihua had already won decisively, Aunt Wang stepped forward and said, "Alright, alright, Old Zhao, don\'t bother with her anymore. Everyone in our courtyard knows what her mouth is like. It\'s not worth getting upset over - let\'s go home."

She gave Madam Zhou Li a disapproving look - accusing her of accepting bribes was truly despicable.

But everyone knew what kind of person Madam Zhou Li was. If she stooped to her level, she would be lowering herself. As someone in a leadership position, she didn\'t need to do that.

Aunt Wang said: "Come on, come on, let\'s get home in this cold weather."

Zhao Guihua: "Pah, you worthless thing! Aunt Wang, I\'m only holding back because of you, otherwise I would have slapped her."

Aunt Wang smiled: "Alright, alright, for my sake then. Let\'s go, let\'s go home, everyone disperse..."

Madam Zhou Li was still gasping for air like she was drowning. Zhou Qun walked up to his mother and said coldly: "Let\'s go home."

Madam Zhou Li: "Ah..."

Though she was furious, seeing her son return, she quickly said: "Are you hungry? Why didn\'t you go straight home when you got back? Why watch this commotion in such cold weather? Your holiday starts tomorrow, right? Do you get any benefits at work for the end of the year?"

She kept asking questions one after another. Zhou Qun remained silent, but after entering the house, he frowned and said: "Mom, haven\'t you embarrassed yourself enough?"

Madam Zhou Li pouted, then muttered defiantly: "How is this my fault? I just saw what happened! And that Aunt Su is useless - as soon as Zhao Guihua got tough, she couldn\'t help at all. What a spineless woman!"

Seeing her son empty-handed, she couldn\'t help but ask again: "Your factory didn\'t give any benefits?"

Zhou Qun looked at her with displeasure and said: "When has our factory ever given benefits? Aren\'t you being foolish asking that? Besides, Jiang Lu has already come home from work. Didn\'t you ask her? Now you\'re asking me in front of all these people - are you trying to make me look bad? Mom, is this how you treat your son?"

Madam Zhou Li quickly said cautiously: "Look at you, child, that\'s not what I meant at all - you\'re misunderstanding me. It\'s all because of that awful Zhuang family. If they hadn\'t been showing off by giving out things, would I have had a brain slip and asked you?"

Unable to win against Zhao Guihua, she could still rant at home: "Look how smug Zhao Guihua is, just because she found a daughter-in-law with good conditions. What\'s so great about that? Giving out a few things, wanting the whole world to know. Just watch, those three little brats of Jin Lai must have stolen them."

Mentioning children made her unhappy again, and she glared at Jiang Lu, scolding: "Useless thing who can\'t lay eggs! You must take that folk remedy I found the other day!"

Jiang Lu\'s expression turned bitter, and she said miserably: "Mom, that remedy contains virgin boy urine... How- how can I drink that? It\'s too disgusting."

"If you don\'t drink it, when will you ever have children? Are you deliberately trying to end our family line? How can you be so heartless? If you still can\'t produce children, just go back to your parents\' home and don\'t come back." Madam Zhou Li took out her anger on her daughter-in-law.

Jiang Lu felt terrible inside, hanging her head without daring to speak, feeling extremely bitter. She knew it was all her fault. If she wasn\'t unable to have children, Zhou Qun wouldn\'t be laughed at for not having any children at his age, and her mother-in-law wouldn\'t increasingly despise her.

It was all her own fault.

Jiang Lu looked at Zhou Qun. When their eyes met, he said: "Enough, Mom. It\'s almost New Year\'s, stop picking on Jiang Lu. We can talk about this after the New Year."

"But..."

"No buts," he said. "Jiang Lu has been trying very hard."

Madam Zhou Li: "Hmph!"

She was very dissatisfied with her son taking his wife\'s side, thinking it was all this worthless woman\'s influence, and grew increasingly hostile toward Jiang Lu. Meanwhile, Jiang Lu was overjoyed, knowing that Zhou Qun would always be good to her no matter what.

She looked at Zhou Qun with sparkling eyes.

"Jiang Lu, our department gave out an extra pound of food coupons. I see the expiration date is coming up soon, and with New Year\'s in a couple of days, the stores won\'t be open. Why don\'t you go use them today?" He handed the coupons to Jiang Lu, who immediately said: "Okay, I\'ll go after I finish cooking."

"Mom can cook, you go ahead."

Jiang Lu: "Alright."

She knew Zhou Qun was trying to help her avoid his mother, and she felt especially touched, her heart warming.

This man had been so good to her, consistently, for ten years.

As soon as Jiang Lu left the house, Madam Zhou Li started cursing: "Look at that little hussy\'s shameless behavior. Can\'t bear children but knows how to sweet-talk men. Don\'t let her fool you."

Zhou Qun watched through the window crack as Jiang Lu left the courtyard and said coldly: "Mom, watch how you speak to her. I have no intention of changing wives."

Madam Zhou Li glared: "It\'s her fault she can\'t have children! Besides, with your conditions, you could get any kind of wife you want!"

Zhou Qun smiled coldly and said, "It\'s her fault, but getting someone else might not be better. My conditions are good, but I\'m already in my thirties, and your reputation is what it is. Don\'t take this the wrong way, but let\'s be honest - girls with conditions like Jiang Lu\'s might not choose me. If I\'m going to find someone who\'s been married before, why should I settle? Jiang Lu\'s family has good conditions, she\'s a formal city worker, and she\'s not bad looking - there aren\'t many who meet all these criteria. It\'s easy to find another wife, but not easy to find one with conditions like hers. What good is a pretty face from the countryside? Would they hand over their entire salary to you? Besides, she can\'t have children, so she feels indebted to our family, and we can control her as we please. Try finding someone else with good conditions and see what happens. They might even expect you to serve them. It\'s just about children! If she can\'t have them, can\'t I find someone else? As long as we keep it quiet, it\'s fine. Besides, she\'s only thirty now and can still handle it. In a couple of years, she might start looking for solutions herself."

Madam Zhou Li\'s triangular eyes flickered as she pondered, then said, "What you say makes sense. So we won\'t make her drink the folk medicine?"

Zhou Qun replied coldly, "She\'ll drink it, of course she will, but didn\'t we say after the New Year? During the festivities, I don\'t want to smell that odor. After New Year\'s, you can push harder. Keep scolding her when needed - if you don\'t scold her, how will she know my worth?"

Madam Zhou Li laughed, "Ah!"

Mother and son, having reached an agreement, showed smug smiles. Madam Zhou Li whispered, "If you ask me, Wang Xiangxiu would be best for having children. She\'s so fertile, all her kids are chubby boys. If she..."

Zhou Qun: "I know, but I still want to see if there are other suitable candidates. If there are, I\'d prefer not to choose her. She\'s too close by, and her family has three children. They\'re always frantically worried about feeding those three kids. If we get too involved, we might get bitten. That kind of woman is fine for sleeping with, but for actually having children, I need to think it through."

Madam Zhou Li caught his meaning, her eyes brightening as she smiled suggestively, then said, "Well, you handle this as you see fit. Mom will follow your lead."

Zhou Qun nodded: "That\'s right to listen to me. I\'m not like that fool Bai Fendou, getting strung along helping others. He\'s in his thirties, and Zhuang Zhixi who\'s only in his twenties is already married, while he\'s still single. What an idiot."

Madam Zhou Li: "That young couple, Zhuang Zhixi and his wife, I don\'t think they\'re any good either. Especially that Ming Mei of theirs, so full of herself, showing off in the courtyard today when she got some things. Making sure everyone knows about it."

Zhou Qun narrowed his eyes slightly: "Her conditions are quite good though. It\'s a waste she\'s with Zhuang Zhixi."

"That\'s right, if we\'d known about someone like her, she would have been good for our family," Madam Zhou Li muttered.

Zhou Qun nodded, but quickly shook his head, saying, "Her family\'s conditions are good, but not as good as Jiang Lu\'s. Being young and pretty is useless - would she hand over her salary?"

Hearing this, Madam Zhou Li quickly said, "That wouldn\'t work at all." She used Jiang Lu\'s salary for living expenses and could save at least fifteen yuan per month for her private stash.

"Exactly."

While mother and son were calculating everything clearly in Jiang Lu\'s absence, Ming Mei, who had been inadvertently drawn into their schemes, kept sneezing. She rubbed her nose and said, "Someone must be talking about me behind my back, hmm!"

"Here, let me rub it for you," Zhuang Zhixi stepped forward, eager to help.

Ming Mei laughed and dodged, saying, "Stop that."

After the family finished dinner, Zhao Guihua began distributing shoes, saying, "Since we\'ve earned some money recently, I bought each of you a pair of thousand-layer cotton shoes to wear on New Year\'s morning. As the old saying goes, wear new shoes to walk new paths! During New Year\'s, you might not wear new clothes, but you must wear new shoes."

Zhuang Zhixi asked with a smile, "Mom, I\'ve never heard that saying before."

Zhao Guihua: "Lu Xun said it."

Zhuang Zhixi: "...Lu Xun said \'wear new shoes to walk new paths\'?"

Why did he find that so hard to believe?

Zhao Guihua gave him a side glance and said, "Maybe it was Zhou Shuren who said it. What, you have a problem with that?"

Zhuang Zhixi: "...No."

He didn\'t say that.

Lu Xun definitely didn\'t say that. Looking up, he saw his older brother about to speak, and Zhuang Zhixi immediately started coughing. Being brothers, he had to stop his brother from courting death! During New Year\'s, better not offend their mother.

Whatever she says someone said, that\'s who said it.

Zhao Guihua: "Cough cough cough, don\'t cough towards the dining table, it\'s disgusting."

"Haven\'t we finished eating?"

"Just because we\'re finished doesn\'t mean you should cough, is that proper?"

Zhao Guihua glared at her son again, watching everyone try on their shoes, and asked, "How are they? Do they fit?"

Ming Mei twirled around in her shoes and said, "They fit perfectly! Mom, how did you know my shoe size? You really do care about me."

She smiled and linked arms with Zhao Guihua, saying coquettishly, "Mom, I knew you liked me best, I\'ve discovered your secret!"

Zhao Guihua: "...You\'re really full of yourself, aren\'t you?"

Ming Mei replied confidently: "But you do like me! It\'s normal for you to know everyone else\'s size, you\'ve lived together for many years, it would be strange if you didn\'t know. But I\'ve only been married in for a short time, not even a month. You knew my size without even asking, which means you must have been secretly paying attention to me. Isn\'t that treating me like your own daughter? I knew you liked me best!"

Zhao Guihua didn\'t know whether to laugh or cry, saying, "Oh, you..."

Ming Mei: "I knew it, I knew it."

Others: "..." They couldn\'t bear to watch.

Liang Meifen: "..." Super angry! This is infuriating! You little brown-noser!

Although Liang Meifen\'s family background wasn\'t particularly good, they weren\'t completely uneducated or uncouth, so she wasn\'t really good at cursing. This made her very frustrated, and she couldn\'t think of many other insulting words.

She just kept using the same few over and over.

Like calling Ming Mei a brown-noser - that label stuck to her.

Liang Meifen was so angry, but seeing how her mother-in-law was actually falling for this act made her even angrier. What kind of person would do this?

Ming Mei continued acting cute with her mother-in-law: "Mom, I\'m so pitiful, you know? Tomorrow everyone else can stay home for New Year\'s, but I have to go to work. Aren\'t I the most pitiful little thing?"

Zhao Guihua: "Oh heavens, can\'t you speak properly? Straighten out your tongue when you talk."

Ming Mei: "Mom, I know you feel sorry for me."

Zhao Guihua: "Hey, no, where did you get that idea?"

Ming Mei: "I can see it everywhere! Look, your mouth is turning up at the corners. Since I\'m working so hard, can I have an extra dumpling tomorrow?"

Zhao Guihua: "Eat, eat, eat, you can have it!"

Ming Mei laughed again, and Zhuang Zhixi joined in: "Mom, can I have one too?"

Zhao Guihua: "Get lost!"

Zhuang Zhixi couldn\'t believe it: "How can you treat us so differently? I knew it, you only like my wife now, you don\'t love your most beloved youngest son anymore. Aren\'t they always saying the youngest son and eldest grandson are the most precious? How can you not dote on me?"

Hutou, feeling somehow targeted, thought carefully and said proudly: "Grandma loves me most!"

He was the eldest grandson, and grandma secretly gave him and Xiao Yanzi treats.

Others didn\'t get any.

He wouldn\'t tell!

But he was proud!

Xiao Yanzi scooted over to Zhao Guihua and hugged her leg, saying in a sweet voice: "Grandma, grandma is Xiao Yanzi\'s, little auntie can\'t steal her!"

Ming Mei refused to yield to the child, firmly stating: "I\'ll steal her anyway!"

Xiao Yanzi pursed her little lips, staring at Ming Mei, their gazes clashing with sparks flying!

Old Man Zhuang: "..." What the hell was all this about? His wife was closest to him, why were all these people trying to steal her!

He coughed heavily.

No one paid attention.

Completely ignored.

This was because Old Man Zhuang had no say at home. Naturally, no one responded, so Old Man Zhuang finally spoke up: "If you all have nothing to do, go back to your rooms and sleep, go on."

He had to drive these people away.

Zhuang Zhixi: "It\'s still early, not tired, let\'s chat for a while."

Ming Mei: "Exactly."

She wiggled her feet, showing off her shoes, saying: "They\'re so comfortable!"

Zhuang Zhixi: "My mom knows which shop is the best, their thousand-layer soles are the best, very good value for money."

Ming Mei: "Yes, I can feel it."

Old Man Zhuang: "If you two lovebirds want to chat, go back to your own room! Get going!"

Ming Mei put on an innocent face, while Zhuang Zhixi scolded his father: "How can you chase people away? We\'re not leaving! Mom, Dad\'s trying to challenge your authority at home, you should say something to him."

Zhao Guihua responded sincerely: "You\'re all giving me a headache with your bickering. Listen to your father and go back to your rooms. I know you all side with your wives, but I side with my old man. He\'s the best person there is." Zhao Guihua waved her hand as if shooing away flies: "Go on, go on."

Like shooing away flies.

Old Man Zhuang felt both touched and proud - his wife always knew how to treat him well!

Zhuang Zhixi: "We have it so tough."

Ming Mei was all smiles as she said coquettishly: "Mom and Dad are still so loving as an old couple, Zhixi, you should learn from them. By the way, I have work tomorrow, are you going to take me?"

Zhuang Zhixi: "Of course! I\'ll take you there and pick you up in the evening."

He ruffled Ming Mei\'s hair and said: "My wife works so hard, I need to show my appreciation as a husband."

They walked arm in arm back to their room. Once inside, Ming Mei didn\'t bother lighting the stove and just flopped onto the bed, saying: "Time to sleep!"

Zhuang Zhixi leaned in and pecked her, Ming Mei: "Mmm."

Aliali: 674546a7c4f3f33ac44c928aShe propped herself up to look at Zhuang Zhixi, who leaned in for another kiss and started getting frisky. Ming Mei pushed him away: "Light the stove, it\'s cold..."

Zhuang Zhixi: "It\'ll get warm in a minute..."

Ming Mei giggled and said: "No, really, it\'s cold. Don\'t let us freeze. Go light the stove. After that, we can do anything!"

Zhuang Zhixi stopped what he was doing and looked at Ming Mei, asking meaningfully: "Anything?"

Ming Mei said coyly: "Yes, do you think I\'m someone who doesn\'t keep their word?"

Zhuang Zhixi\'s eyes darkened slightly as he smiled and said: "Pinky promise."

Ming Mei: "You\'re so childish!"

But despite her words, she was the one who reached out to make the pinky promise...

The room\'s temperature gradually rose, and soon the young couple turned off the lights, and the bed started creaking...

The bed should hold up just fine!